News of the Chair
- Departure of Heleen Buldeo Rai from the Chair: after three years in the Chair (2020-2022), Heleen Buldeo Rai is returning to Belgium to take up a Senior Researcher position at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB). We wish her every success in her new professional adventure and thank her for her involvement in the Chair!
- Publication of the first draft of the research report , written by François Adoue (Researcher, consultant) on data for urban logistics in Rotterdam
- International seminar on urban logistics and ecommerce mobilities – Novembre 9, 2022 : you can access and download the presentations following this page !
- Publication of the 2023 internships positions – deadline : November 30, 2022
- Newsletter #7 of the Logistics City chair – October 2022
- Publication of an article in Journal of Transport Geography on the relation between warehouses spatial distribution and differential prices with a comparison between American cities
- Publication of an article in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice on the development of logistics facilities in dense and mixed-use urban areas in New York, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo
- Report on new methods for collecting data on urban logistics (in French)
- Publication of an e-book on the warehouse geography in the US
- Publication of an article in Transport Reviews on e-commerce and urban logistics data
- Publication of an article in Transport Policy on urban logistics during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Report on the fifth round of surveys on instant delivery micro-entrepreneurs in Paris (in French)
- Article on “quick commerce” and “dark stores” in The Conversation France (in French)
- Film about deliveries in New York: teaser and video (password: Delivery) of “Tournée en ville” by Sandrine Wenglenski
Recent interventions
- Communication during the ATEC Conference on logistics about new data for urban logistics byLaetitia Dablanc and François Adoue, Novembre 18, 2022
- Urban Mobility Days 2022, 20 to 22 September, 2022: round table “Zero-emission urban logistics” by Laetitia Dablanc
- France Inter, August 24, 2022: intervention “Le “tout-livraison” atteint-il ses limites ?”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- METRANS University of Southern California, July 20, 2022: presentation “How does ‘quick commerce’ change (or not) urban freight and city policies”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- Postal Hub, July 19, 2022: podcast “Logistics and delivery lessons from lockdown”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- International Geographical Union Congress, July 19, 2022: presentation “How e-commerce transforms the store and the retail landscape: ‘dark stores’, ‘warestores, and urban logistics”, by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- E-commerce Conference, June 17, 2022: presentation “New ways to collect e-commerce mobility data for city planning”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- E-commerce Conference, June 16, 2022: presentation “Can urban shopping centres be a solution to cities’ e-commerce mobility challenges?”, by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- Comeos webinar, 31 May 2022: presentation “Post-pandemic omnichannel retail strategies & implications for urban logistics”, by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- International Urban Freight Conference, 25 May 2022: presentation ““Proximity logistics”: Characterizing the development of logistics facilities in dense mixed-use urban areas around the world”, by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- International Urban Freight Conference, 25 May 2022: presentation “An analysis of the evolution of warehouses location from 2012 to 2019 in major U.S. Consolidated Statistical Areas (CSA): New insights of warehousing spatial patterns”, by Laetitia Dablanc and Matthieu Schorung
- Conference of Transport Research Institutes (ECTRI), 6 May 2022: presentation “Sustainable city logistics”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- Politecnico di Milano, 4 May 2022: presentation “Logistics geographies”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- International Colloquium on the Platformisation of Work, 11 May 2022: discussion on the economic and social unsustainability of the self-employment/digital platform combination, by Laetitia Dablanc
- ECTRI Thematic Group Freight & Logistics webinar, 6 May 2022: presentation on sustainable city logistics, by Laetitia Dablanc
- Politecnico di Torino, 4 May 2022: DISTant Talks “Logistics geographies, research from the Logistics City Chair”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- Presentation, Caltrans Sustainable Freight Academy, 12 April 2022 : « Practices in Freight Planning. Balancing Sustainability and Resiliency. Sustainable freight planning in France and Europe », by Laetitia Dablanc
- Presentation, ATEC, 8 April 2022 : « Quelles sources à disposition des villes pour mieux connaître la mobilité logistique ? », by Laetitia Dablanc
- Presentation FastTrack Civitas, 29 March 2022 : « New methods to collect urban freight data », by Laetitia Dablanc
- AUTONOMY, March 16, 2022: presentation “15-minute delivery in the 15-minute city”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- Logistics City Chair, February, 2022: presentation “Les zones à faibles émissions et la logistique urbaine”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- France Culture, February 9, 2022: broadcast “Restaurants et magasins fantômes : la livraison rend-elle la consommation aveugle ?” with Laetitia Dablanc
- The Postal Hub, February 9, 2022: podcast “The environmental impact of e-commerce delivery” by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- METROFORUM – Chaire pour les transitions métropolitaines, February 3, 2022: presentation “(Re)penser la logistique urbaine” by Laetitia Dablanc
- LADYSS-Institut pour la Ville et le Commerce, January 28, 2022: presentation “La logistique urbaine dans les études urbaines” by Laetitia Dablanc
- Seminar Research group SEPRO, National University of Colombia, January 27, 2022: presentation “Autonomous vehicles’ potential for e-commerce deliveries” by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- Transport Decarbonisation Alliance, January 20, 2022: presentation “Sustainable city logistics” by Laetitia Dablanc
- Conférence Régionale de la Logistique, December 20, 2021: presentation “Dynamiques d’implantation des espaces logistiques en Île-de-France” by Laetitia Dablanc
- La Poste, Decembre 9, 2021: presentation “L’impact environnemental du e-commerce” by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- Delft University of Technology, Decembre 1st, 2021: presentation “So many new warehouses in Paris today: why?”, by Laetitia Dablanc
- Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States, Octobre 26, 2021: presentation “E-commerce logistics in Paris” by Laetitia Dablanc
- Rencontres Transports et Mobilités, Octobre 19, 2021: round table “Quelle place pour les marchandises dans la ville ?” with Laetitia Dablanc
- BIVEC-GIBET, Octobre 8, 2021: presentation “The impact of COVID-19 on urban logistics” by Heleen Buldeo Rai
- Fédération Nationale des Agences d’Urbanisme, September 23, 2021: presentation “Tour d’horizon des méthodes à explorer pour obtenir des données supplémentaires sur la mobilité urbaine des marchandises” by Laetitia Dablanc
- Centre for Transportation and Logistics, September 15, 2021: presentation and webinar “The Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Logistics” by Laetitia Dablanc
- SITL, September 14, 2021: round table “Comment mieux responsabiliser le consommateur face aux enjeux de la logistique urbaine ?” by Laetitia Dablanc
Chair description
New concepts, new urban logistics companies are emerging in Asia, Europe, and the United States, and more recently in all urban regions of the world, driven by digital revolutions. This logistic aims to meet the demand of urban companies and consumers for new services while providing solutions to cities’ concerns about the environmental and social impacts of current urban deliveries.
For cities with efficient urban logistics (such as Tokyo) that integrate logistics facilities into very dense urban areas or “intelligent” neighbourhood logistics, there are still less central districts and many large cities in the world whose congestion and emissions related to freight transport remain at far too high levels, while social issues (jobs and working conditions) are becoming more acute.
The Logistics City Chair is part of this context, with a specific dual ambition:
- To pay particular attention, especially through the disciplines of urban planning and development, to the question of crucial logistical locations for urban and metropolitan areas such as warehouses.
- To explore the impact of new consumption and distribution trends on urban logistics and the territories, particularly those related to e-commerce and more generally to digital transformations. Working in the Île-de-France region and having comparative perspective, data will be collected and developments in major world cities will be identified.
We will aim to increase knowledge while ensuring that we provide methodological tools to public and private actors in urban logistics, to contribute to the development of public policies on freight mobility, the energy transition of the sector, new logistics real estate and employment.
Chair governance
Policy and evaluation committee
- Jonathan Sebbane, General Director and President of the Chair Policy and evaluation committee, Sogaris
- Rémi Féredj, General Director, Poste-Immo
- Serge Piperno, Scientific Director, Université Gustave Eiffel
- Muriel Jougleux, Vice-President Partnerships and Professionalisation, Université Gustave Eiffel
- Claude Samson, President, AFILOG
- Julien Aldhuy, Senior Lecturer, Université Paris Est Créteil
- Marion Waller, Advisor to the Mayor of Paris, in charge of Architecture, Preservation and Landscape
- Susana Val, Director, MIT Europe, Zaragoza Logistics Centre
- Olivier Storch, Executive Vice President, Asia-Pacific & Americas, GeoPost
- Cécile Maisonneuve, President, La Fabrique de la Cité
- Adeline Heitz, Lecturer, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
- Nathalie Granes, Department Head, Ile-de-France Region
- François Combes, Laboratory Director SPLOTT, University Gustave Eiffel
- Pierre Zembri, Laboratory Director LVMT, University Gustave Eiffel
Steering committee
- Laetitia Dablanc, Director of research and director of the Chair, University Gustave Eiffel (LVMT)
- Heleen Buldeo Rai, Postdoctoral researcher, University Gustave Eiffel (LVMT)
- Matthieu Schorung, Post-doctoral researcher, University Gustave Eiffel (SPLOTT)
- Sandrine Wenglenski, Assistant Professor, University Gustave Eiffel (LVMT)
- Sonia Samadi, Director of development and innovation, Sogaris
- Jean-Louis Boudol, Director of urban logistics projects, Poste-Immo
- Juliette Berthon, Head of development and innovation Sogaris